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British merchant seamen
(1835-1836)At this period, the foreign trade of ships plying to and from the British isles involved about 150,000 men on 15,000 ships; and the coasting trade about a quarter as many more. A large proportion of the seamen on these ships were British subjects, and so liable to be pressed for service in the Royal Navy; but there was no general register by which to identify them, so in 1835 parliament passed a Merchant Seamen's Registration Bill. Under this act this large register of British seamen was compiled, based on ships' crew lists gathered in British and Irish ports, and passed up to the registry in London. Each seaman was assigned a number, and the names were arranged in the register by first two letters of the surname (our sample scan shows one of the pages for 'Sm'); in addition, an attempt was made to separate out namesakes by giving the first instance of a name (a), the second (b), and so on. But no effective method was devised to prevent the same man being registered twice as he appeared in a second crew list; moreover, the original crew lists were clearly difficult for the registry clerks to copy, and some of the surname spellings appear to be corrupted. A parliamentary committee decided that the system devised did not answer the original problem, and this register was abandoned after less than two years: but it is an apparently comprehensive source for British merchant seamen in 1835 to 1836. The register records the number assigned to each man; his name; age; birthplace; quality (master, captain, mate, 2nd mate, mariner, seaman, fisherman, cook, carpenter, boy &c.); and the name and home port of his ship, with the date of the crew list (usually at the end of a voyage). Most of the men recorded were born in the British Isles, but not all (for instance, Charleston and Stockholm appear in the sample scan). The final column 'How disposed of' is rarely used, and indicates those instances where a man died, was discharged, or deserted his ship during the voyage.

MCNIE. Cost: £8.00.

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Victoria Intestates
(1860)The probate courts of the Australian colonies furnished returns of estates of deceased intestates, giving full name, colonial residence, supposed British or foreign residence of family (often unknown, or left blank), amount of the estate and how much had been disbursed and how. The date of death is often stated, and if by accident, suicide or crime. Names were carried forward from return to return until the estate was expended or exhausted.

MCNIE. Cost: £6.00.

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Scottish Debtors, Insolvents and Bankrupts
(1887)Protests on Bills of Exchange, Sequestrations and Cessio Bonorums in Scotland, January to March 1887

MCNIE. Cost: £6.00.

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Officers of the British Army and of the Indian Army
(1934)The Half-Yearly Army List, issued By Authority, 30 June 1934, lists all officers in active service at that date, and this list was evidence of the status and rank of the officers contained in it. The entries are set out as a gradation list, by rank, from field-marshals to lieutenants, and within each rank in order of seniority at that rank. Each officer's name (surname first, in capitals, then christian name and present rank (with date of achieving that rank) and regiment &c. are given, for convenience, in bold type, with any national decorations in italics after the name. Each entry also gives date of birth, number of days service in the ranks, dates of service in each rank of officer, particular offices and postings (with dates) and, where appropriate, a summary of war service, and medals. For all but the oldest of the officers then serving, the war service details are for the Great War (1914-1921), and campaigns in Iraq, Waziristan, and the North West Frontier of India. War services are not given in this edition for Indian Army officers, except in that their entries are preceded by a crossed swords symbol where they have seen war service in a theatre of war overseas. After the gradation list of officers, there is a section for the Royal Malta Artillery; and then (pages 1152 to 1185) warrant officers - staff or garrison serjeant-majors, educational serjeant-majors, serjeant-major (physical training and educational) instructors, regimental serjeant-majors (and corporal-majors, farrier-serjeant majors, master gunners, assistant instructors in gunnery, experimental serjeant-majors, artillery clerks, farrier-serjeant-majors, artificer serjeant-majors, clerks of works, mechanist, superintending clerks, draughtsmen, 1st class staff serjeant-majors, transport, supply, conductors, sub-conductors, armourers, armament artificers, headmasters, schoolmasters, marine gunners, and bandmasters. The section for the Royal Army Chaplains' Department lists all chaplains (1st to 3rd class); and that for Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service has all matrons, sisters and staff nurses. The lists of nurses do not give date of birth: all are unmarried. The book concludes with the Yeomen of the Guard, the Honourable Company of Gentlemen-at-Arms, and the King's Body Guard for Scotland, in each case giving name (surname and initials, not christian names), honours, name of late regiment, and date of appointment.

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Civil servants
(1937)The Civil Service Commission issued a monthly report listing certificates issued to civil servants of various grades on their initial appointment (whether after open competition, or without); assignments to higher grades; and transfers between departments. This is the report for August 1937: the sample scan is from the listing for post office clerks.

MCNIE. Cost: £6.00.

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Clerks, sorters, telephonists, postmen and other workers in the General Post Office
(1937)The Civil Service Commission issued a monthly report listing certificates issued to civil servants of various grades on their initial appointment (whether after open competition, or without); assignments to higher grades; and transfers between departments. This is the report for August 1937: the sample scan is from the listing for post office clerks.

MCNIE. Cost: £6.00.

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Imperial Service Medal
(1946)The Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood at St James's Palace announced these awards by king George VI of the Imperial Service Medal to members of the Home Civil Service. The names are arranged alphabetically by surname (in capitals) and christian names, with office or rank in the service.

MCNIE. Cost: £4.00.

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Associate Members of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (A. M. I. Mech. E.)
(1947)The Institution of Mechanical Engineers, founded in 1847, was incorporated by royal charter in 1930. The list of members of 1 March 1947 gives the names (surname first) and addresses of the seven classes of member - Honorary Members (Hon. M. I. Mech. E.); Members (M. I. Mech. E.); Associate Members (A. M. I. Mech. E.); Companions (C. I. Mech. E.); Associates (A. I. Mech. E.); Graduates (G. I. Mech. E.); and Students (S. I. Mech. E.). The year of attaining qualification is given in the left-hand margin; in the higher grades the years of achieving the lower grades are also given, bracketed together. The crossed swords symbol indicates naval or military service during the Great War of 1914-1918; an italic b shows a member of the Benevolent Fund. (p) after a Graduate's or a Student's name indicates one who had passed the whole of the A. M. Examination or its recognized equivalent.

MCNIE. Cost: £4.00.

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Doctors in Military Service
(1948)The Medical Directory was split into several sections. This section covered medical practitioners in the Navy, the Army, the Indian Army and the Royal Air Force. The doctor's name is given first, in bold, surname first, in capitals; then current address. Next are the qualifications; the italic abbreviations in parentheses following the qualifications indicate the medical school at which they were gained. Then there is a list of posts and honours within the profession, starting with those then current; previous posts are preceded by the word 'late'. Finally, brief details are given of any publications.

MCNIE. Cost: £2.00.

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Doctors trained in Britain or Ireland but living abroad
(1948)The Medical Directory was split into several sections. The Practitioners Resident Abroad section covered all medical practitioners who, having qualified in Britain or Ireland, were living abroad. Each year a schedule was sent to each doctor to be returned to the publishers, so as to keep the directory up to date. In the directory the doctor's name is given first, in bold, surname first, in capitals; then current address. Next are the qualifications; the italic abbreviations in parentheses following the qualifications indicate the medical school at which they were gained. Then there is a list of posts and honours within the profession, starting with those then current; previous posts are preceded by the word 'late'. Finally, brief details are given of any publications. Inclusion of names in the list did not imply a right to practise in the country of residence.